Unthinkable title dream edging closer to reality after derby win

[BBC]

At what point does the seemingly unthinkable prospect of Hearts winning the Scottish Premiership become, well, thinkable?

I know, I know: us Jambos are conditioned to prepare for the worst and only dream of the best. But with 360 minutes of football left, there's a genuine belief we can actually become champions.

After victory at Easter Road nudged us even closer to the finishing line, you can forgive folk in Gorgie for getting a bit giddy.

Beating Hibs has felt like the expected outcome for most of my lifetime; winning titles absolutely hasn't. And, to be fair, I've got to hand it to our near neighbours for being so hospitable to us down in Leith.

When Hibs magnanimously spent so long with nine men - and even diverted two of our efforts into their own net - you start to wonder if everyone bar Old Firm supporters wants us to end a 66-year top-flight title drought.

This season in the Edinburgh derbies we've made a habit of scoring late and this Hearts side carries a calmness that hasn't always been there in recent years.

That confidence comes from what Derek McInnes and this squad have shown over the past 10 months, right back to the League Cup group stage in July.

The growth has been phenomenal: an eclectic mix of well-kent faces from Scottish football, plus the Jamestown Analytics algorithm throwing up players from all sorts of places, like Italy's Serie D for Sabah Kerjota. Everyone has played their part and the team has improved as the season reaches its crescendo.

Kerjota is the sort of player who, if we win the league, will become a cult hero. He remarkably still hasn't started a match, but has helped win us five points in two games against Hibs.

Three magnificent assists have come from the right-hand side - all of them a familiar cutback on to that majestic left foot.

There's plenty of stardust in this Hearts side with players who grab the headlines, but Stephen Kingsley deserves enormous credit. He's been plagued by niggly injuries over the past few seasons and was understudy to James Penrice last term, yet when he plays he makes a massive difference, on and off the pitch.